Expert: Roberto Gomes - 9/2/2006

Question
I am scheduled to arrive LA at 13:20 Sunday 3 September 2006 and depart 17:50 on the same day bound for Heathrow/London and I do not hold an entry Visa to the US.

As I will only be transitting via LA will I face any immigration problems?

I am a Fiji Citizen

I would appreciate your advice

Jo

Answer
Dear Josua,

Unfortunatelly you will need a US visa to transit over the US in direction to UK.
Below is the full requeriments.
By the way if you purchased your ticket using a travel agency or airline directly, they MUST have told you that you will need a visa.

You can shown them the text below taken from Timatic, which is the official source as far as documentation is concern.
Best regards,
R. Gomes


National FIJI (FJ)              /Embarkation FIJI (FJ)
Transit U.S.A. (US)             
Destination UNITED KINGDOM (GREAT BRITAIN) (GB)
ALSO CHECK DESTINATION INFORMATION BELOW

U.S.A. (US)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (CBP) TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED BOTH THE US TRANSIT WITHOUT VISA (TWOV) AND INTERNATIONAL-TO-INTERNATIONAL (ITI) PROGRAMS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

Those intending to transit the U.S.A. must comply with entry requirements. Please make entries applicable to destination U.S.A.

All passengers arriving from any country, except those
pre-inspected in Canada, must deplane the aircraft and proceed directly to either the Federal Inspection Services (FIS) area for inspection, or to an CBP-approved (Customs and Border Protection) in-transit/progressive clearance lounge. Those passengers going to the in-transit/progressive clearance lounge will go through a CBP inspection.

Until further notice, all in-transit passengers and passengers on progressive flights will be inspected at the first U.S. port of arrival. This supersedes previous in-transit passenger processes. These new procedures also require CBP inspection of progressive flights (flights clearing passengers at more than one port) at the first port.

Non-compliance with transit requirements will result in fines varying between USD 2,000 and USD 3,000 per passenger at transit point (detention costs at carrier's expense).

Fines for incomplete/inaccurately filled out I-94W Forms are USD 1,000.- per passenger.